Broken
by spacemonkey13
Summary: Taken from my set of one-shots "Increments": Something is up with Maura and Jane is determined to find out what it is, especially when it lands the ME in the hospital. What would it take for one particular detective to realize that the problem may be another woman?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Taken from my story "Increments," which is a set of one shots. Felt this four-piece story deserved its own publication, so to speak. So my apologies if some of you who've read this already may have been expecting a different or an extended version of the original. Again, thank you to those who expressed their reviews of this set, both on this site and Tumblr._

-x-x-x-x-

She's running as fast as she can.

Her boots skid noisily across the floor as she turns a corner, wondering madly if _she's_ okay and musing inwardly if she needs to draw her gun to get some answers straight away.

Thankfully, the latter thought yields a negative as she comes face to face with a nurse who looks familiar.

Jane may not know her, but apparently the nurse did.

"If you're looking for Dr. Isles, she's in room 406. But you'll have to wait for her attending to finish examining her."

The detective is quite unsure how to respond to the petite blonde who waylaid her. In the process of trying to come up with a coherent reply with all the thoughts raging through her mind, Jane suddenly finds herself in the waiting room, apparently ushered to it by said nurse without her conscious knowledge.

She is barely able to mumble a "thank you" before the nurse leaves with a "Mhmm…the doctor will be out to see you soon."

-x-x-x-x-x-

She isn't fully aware of what happened.

One minute she's in the middle of a "lively" discussion with a fellow detective on the merits of a particular Italian restaurant and the next thing she knows, Suzie is calling to let her know that her best friend was rushed to the hospital.

Jane is quite disappointed in herself for forgetting to ask Chang for details.

All she knows is that she went running to her car, somehow managed _not_ to get into an accident, ended up in the hospital, and is now seated in the waiting room.

Waiting.

-x-x-x-x-

She's pretty sure that Maura has been avoiding her for some time.

It started with small things like being too busy with her work to go for lunch, nag her to eat this, jog there, attend yoga. And it wouldn't have been a big deal usually since both were well aware of how the other can get caught up in their profession–except Jane started noticing that they hardly saw each other anymore. Rarely enough in fact that Jane began to _miss!_ Maura's reminders to eat leafy greens, wake up calls to go jogging, rude awakenings to do yoga...

And when Jane got to corner the ME to spend what spare time the doc seemingly had to spare, Maura seemed to be stiff as a board, never quite able to meet her gaze, and if she wasn't mistaken, looked like she was losing sleep –and weight. _She had those nasal juggle thingies. And her clothes looked…well, they certainly didn't cling to her as it used to. Not that she was looking or anything._

While waiting for the doctor to let her know she could finally see her best friend, Jane tries to backtrack and pinpoint where and when Maura started acting "weirdly" around her, to say the least.

The last time they went out, Jane recalls, was when they went to the cinema to watch Captain America. Maura wasn't all too excited about the choice of film, but understood that it was technically Jane's turn to choose their Friday night activity.

From there, the detective tries to piece a timeline in her mind as to when things started changing.

A throat clearing snaps Jane out of her internal sleuthing and she is quick to get to her feet as she greets whom she understands to be Maura's attending.


	2. Chapter 2

_Broken Heart Syndrome._

For the umpteenth time, she wishes Maura was awake to start explaining it all to her.

All that Jane understood from the doctor was something about stress, and that it all basically just got too much for Maura and what everyone thought initially as a heart attack turned out to be something else. To be fair, Jane gathered that apparently a broken heart was better than an actual heart attack.

Still.

Anything that _hurt_ Maura never sat well with Jane.

Jane settles on the chair closest to Maura's bed and takes her hand.

And again, she starts to wonder.

What was going on? Has she been that bad of a best friend that she had no inkling as to what stressed Maura so bad it drove her to the brink of being literally heartbroken?

Jane freezes.

Has Maura been seeing someone and she didn't know?

Someone who dared to _break_ her best friend's heart?

Jane withdraws her hand from Maura's for a chance to clench her fists at the thought.

 _Fuckin' a—_ When she finds out who toyed with Maura's affections—

The slight rustling of sheets is enough to snap Jane back to reality and away from thoughts of investigating her way through her best friend's life while she was apparently not paying enough attention.

"Maura?" Jane whispers as she takes her hand, waiting to see if her best friend was truly awake.

"Jane." She mumbles.

A smile grows on the detective's face as she stands up, leans slightly over the blonde doctor and waits.

-x-x-x-x-

 _Somebody said you got a new friend_

Dr. Maura Isles doesn't guess.

But she can provide a hypothesis based on observation. And it is her hypothesis that her best friend Jane was seeing someone romantically.

And that someone was not her.

 _Does (s)he love you better than I can_

And the good doctor can also hypothesize that she's not supposed to know about it. Maybe no one else is supposed to. But, isn't she Jane's best friend? Why would she feel the need to hide it?

 _There's a big black sky over my town  
I know where you're at, I bet (s)he's around_

The fact that the person Jane's dating is a woman certainly has nothing to do with the tumult of emotions that has been plaguing Maura since her unwitting discovery.

 _Lie_ , a voice inside her head whispers every time Maura's thoughts run along said lines.

A hand unconsciously rubs against her chest, right above where her heart is supposed to be.

Maura stops herself.

It's a good thing Jane stepped out for a bit lest she see and start pestering and causing a ruckus in the hospital for every time she thought the ME was the slightest bit uncomfortable.

 _Yeah I know it's stupid  
But I just got to see it for myself_

Maura first heard of Detective Emily Stern when Korsak mentioned her in passing as a newcomer to Boston and Boston PD. Assigned originally to robbery, their team crossed paths with Detective Stern when a break in ended up with two dead bodies.

The Chief ME was provided the opportunity to meet her in person when Jane brought her around to the morgue.

From there on, Maura observed that the robbery detective frequented the homicide floor.

Specifically, Jane's desk.

 _I'm in the corner, watching you kiss [her] (Oooh)  
I'm right over here, why can't you see me (Oooh)  
I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the guy you're taking home (Uuuh)  
I keep dancing on my own  
(I keep dancing on my own)_

They had just gotten out of the movie theater, Maura exasperated but nonetheless amused at the enjoyment Jane obviously got from Captain America. Her best friend's wildly gesticulating hands tended to get out of control when she was feeling either excited or upset about something. The wilder they are, the more intense her emotions got. It was something she easily concluded from her first year of being friends with the Italian detective.

They were supposed to grab desert from that place Maura loved, but Jane could do without. It was Jane's way of compromise: Maura withstood the movie for her, now it was her turn to "suck it up" and go along with the doctor's choice of desert.

But then from a few steps in front of them, a door slams open and Emily steps out, a bit inebriated apparently.

Catching sight of the pair, Emily's eyes widened and next thing Maura is aware of is that they are caught up inside some bar filled with pumping music and a strong crowd of people squeezing them from nearly all sides.

Maura lost sight of Jane, despite the brunette's attempt to hold on to her best friend's hand. And so she decided that perhaps the best form of action was to wait somewhere near the exit. It was her understanding that Jane was trying to get Emily to go home. Maura was admittedly somewhat disappointed that their plans were disturbed but knew that Jane's stalwart loyalty to her fellow detectives had her concerned and simply looking out for Emily.

Until a moment later when it seemed as if time slowed down, the crowd of people in front of her parted just enough for Maura to catch sight of Jane holding Emily in her arms, their lips locked in a kiss.

She could not distinguish between the pump of the music and the pump of the blood that was loudly making itself known in her ears.

Through all the irrationality of her thoughts, all that Maura could think of was that…

It hurt.

It hurt. A lot.

And that was that.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Whereas she once took solace and comfort in Jane's presence, all that Maura could remember each time she laid eyes on Jane was the pain.

Perhaps it was unconscious at first. A bit of the self-preservation instinct kicking in, Maura rationalizes when she glimpses the pain and accusation of abandonment in Jane's eyes.

If her body equated pain at the sight of her best friend, why stay?

Slowly but surely, they spent less and less time apart. Mostly Maura's doing.

"Maura?"

The blonde is snapped out of her musings and she catches sight of Jane back in the chair she laid claim to from when Maura was admitted.

"Yes?"

Jane stays quiet for a beat, looking into her eyes.

Maura forces herself not to flinch in light of the detective's probing gaze.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

And ultimately fails as she brings her own gaze back down on to the blanket covering her lap.

"You heard what the doctor said—"

"You know what I'm talking about, Maur. Please don't…don't lie to me." Jane pleads.

 _Lie_.

She clenches her fist and brings her eyes back up to meet Jane's, and the latter is almost taken aback at the anger that blazes in them.

"Lie to you? If I've been lying to you, Jane then it's no more than by omission—which I'm sure you're guilty of just as much!"

And Jane snaps.

"The fuck did I lie to you about, Maura?!"

Maura snorts.

Jane belatedly notes that the ME has failed to berate her for her choice of language like she was wont to do.

"Don't you dare give me that fucking look, Maura and answer the question. You spent weeks avoiding me, acting like I did something wrong, punishing me for it! And I don't even know what it is you're punishing me for!"

"You should know!" Maura is adamant.

"Oh, that is a load of bull—that's shitty, Maura! If you have something to say to me, say it already! I'm not a mind reader!

Maura opens her mouth to respond, but a timid knock at the door interrupts them.

In sync, both whip their heads to see who dared to interrupt them.

"Sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Jane acknowledges the surprise guest with a nod and a one-word greeting.

"Emily."

 _AN: The song is by Callum Scott, "Dancing on My Own." The song is a cover, whose original was sung by Robyn. Give both a listen to._


	3. Chapter 3

"You're upset."

"That's a very astute observation, Jane." Maura deadpans.

Jane leans back against the wall near the door.

"Of all the things you had to pick up from me all these years, it just had to be sarcasm."

"You do it so well." Maura shrugs.

"Tell me what's going on, Maura."

"So you're ordering me around now, are you?" The doctor shoots back, crossing her arms against her chest and slightly turning away to gaze out the window.

"I was trying to ask politely." Jane grinds out, jaw tense.

"You have a way of being polite." Maura retorts.

Jane snaps.

"Oh, you mean like how you were—just moments ago—polite enough to tell Emily to leave?" Jane's voice has risen towards the last three words.

Maura chooses to remain silent. But Jane can't help but notice how the blonde stiffens further at the drop of Emily's name.

The detective forces herself to calm down. In cases such as this one, pushing Maura only makes her more…"difficult," to say the least.

Jane finds herself trying to regulate her breathing, with much help from previous rounds of unsolicited tips on yoga and meditation that Maura had thrown her way throughout their time as friends.

She makes her way back to her chair and gingerly reaches for one of Maura's hands: the one clutching the hospital sheet. Jane's frown deepens.

In a low soft tone, she begins.

"Maura, I just want to know what's going on so maybe I can start understanding the 'why'. And from there, maybe I can finally figure out what I need to do to get my best friend back."

It gives Jane a degree of comfort when instead of pulling away, Maura slowly but surely twists her hand in Jane's grasp in order to slip and intertwine her fingers through hers.

But still, she remains quiet.

And so Jane trudges on.

"I want to know what has got you all stressed out that you nearly _literally_ had your heart broken, Maur. Broken! Jeez. I don't say it much but I really need you to explain everything about that to me sometime in the near future. Or maybe tomorrow."

There's a small smile that briefly passes Maura's lips and Jane finds this just the encouragement she needs.

"I want to know what's going on that I feel like I'm losing you. I want to know if there's some _guy_ to blame for this so I know whose ass to kick. I want to know why you've been walking around like…like you lost your best friend or something, because I'm RIGHT HERE, Maura! And I really want to know what's going on so I can help you. And because Ma won't take my word for it when I tell her I have no idea why you may be mad at me."

Finally, Maura slowly shifts her eyes to meet hers.

It feels like forever, but…

"I want to be mad at you, Jane. Sometimes I feel like I am. But mostly I feel like I'm mad at myself."

Jane tightens her grasp of Maura's hand but keeps quiet. She has to.

"Because how can I be mad at my best friend if she's happy?"

 _What?_ If anything, Jane is only getting more confused.

Maura fidgets with her other hand, picking at some imaginary lint on the sheet.

"You know that inter-personal skills seminar you took five months ago?"

 _Again, what?_

"Uh…yeah?" Jane drawls out.

"And you remember that short activity the trainer gave you? The one where she showed you pictures of eyes and—"

Jane cuts her off with a nod, "—and we had to 'guess' what emotions those eyes were trying to express. Yeah."

"And you remember how you almost got every answer right except for three items?"

Jane was beginning to get an idea of where this was going but mostly felt disbelief at the possibilities.

Maura looks down at their clasped hands, squeezing hers once, as if testing the reality of her presence.

Jane doesn't disappoint and squeezes back as a form of reassurance.

"You missed the pairs that expressed desire, seduction, and jealousy."

At the last word, Maura meets Jane's gaze directly.

And Jane is floored.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Maura! Sweetie!" Angela bursts into the room, Frankie trailing right behind her with a look of exasperation painted on his face.

Before Angela has fully wrapped her arms around Maura, the younger Rizzoli catches a glimpse of the tableau they had interrupted and he cannot help himself but wince.

"Hey! I just saw Emily heading out downstairs." Tommy comes in and joins the fray, shortly followed by Korsak and Nina. Frankie notes the tension that lines Maura's eyes at the mention of the robbery detective's name a split second before the Chief ME conditions her facial expression appear neutral.

Before they know it, chaos had descended upon the room, effectively shutting down any possibility of continuing their conversation.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"You just say the word, Janie and I'll get everyone out of there."

Jane's a bit startled at the appearance of her younger brother from behind her.

"Jeezus, Frankie." She mutters.

Frankie is tasked by the Rizzoli matriarch grab some items she'd forgotten from the car, but Jane volunteers to come along and help.

Angela is too focused on fussing over Maura that she doesn't question it, but the latter does. And with a pained smile, she watches Jane leave.

"You two looked like you were finally getting to have that talk."

Jane is quiet, introspective.

She leans against the hallway wall, two corners from Maura's room.

"Until Ma barged in."

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. But as soon as she heard Maura was awake, she was basically roarin' to go, Jane."

Jane shrugs.

"I was serious, Janie. I _can_ get them outta there." Frankie is adamant. He and the rest of the BPD were unfortunately witness to the recent tension between the ME and his sister. Talk and speculation was going around, with a bit of Emily's thrown with them as well.

It was obvious to everyone that Emily was batting for the other team.

It was also obvious to everyone that Emily was seriously after one particular Rizzoli.

Obvious to everyone at least but Jane.

Unfortunately, it was also obvious to everyone else but Jane that Dr. Maura Isles did not like the fact that Emily was after her best friend.

"Jane?" Frankie prods.

Something flits across Jane's eyes and she straightens up.

"You know what, Frankie. I _would_ appreciate it if you could get everyone out of there."

She places a hand atop his shoulder and briefly gives it a squeeze in thanks and starts walking away.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I need to run a quick errand. But I'm giving you an hour tops to get everyone out, alright?" Jane waves a hand in goodbye and then picks up her pace to jog away.

Frankie sighs.

He sincerely hopes his sister gets a clue.

Soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Maura's quite unsure where the surge of anger came from upon laying eyes on Jane.

But Jane's quite sure where the shoe heading for her head came from.

The sound of breaking glass makes them both flinch—but for very different reasons.

Maura is pained at the sight of the precious vase she collected from her time in Africa.

Jane is pained _and_ worried at the sight of the broken thing, which she's sure Maura will blame her for. Except, she's banking on her best friend on being too polite to do so.

"What the hell, Maura!?"

Right. Fighting fire with fire isn't probably the way to go right now.

"What are you doing here?" Fighting for composure, Maura goes looking for the broom and a dustpan to start cleaning as means of distraction. And to keep her from having to look at Jane.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I get back to the hospital and some nurse tells me you signed yourself out AMA. AMA, MAURA!?"

"I'm a doctor, Jane."

"Of dead people, Maur. You know, doctors _do_ make the worst patients."

"Yet being this so-called doctor of dead people doesn't stop you from running to me whenever you get hurt."

"Because whenever I _run_ to you, my wounds and bruises are superficial."

"Oh so you mean, the internal bleeding Frankie went through was superficial enough for you?"

"That's different and you know it!"

Jane's voice has risen and Maura isn't going to let Jane push her around in her own home.

No. Jane was the one who taught her to be better than that.

"It is NOT different! And don't you raise your voice at me!" Maura's hand was gripping the back of the couch—distracting her from her initial endeavor of cleaning up the mess behind Jane.

"I wouldn't be raising my voice at you if you weren't so damn stubborn!"

"What makes my case so different from when you'd sign yourself out AMA?!" Maura demands.

"I'M NOT THE ONE LITERALLY NURSING A BROKEN HEART!"

Silence.

Belatedly, it all comes rushing back to Jane with her own words that Maura shouldn't be stressed.

She can't afford to be straining herself—especially when she barely got out of the hospital.

"Maura. I'm sorry." Jane makes a move towards her best friend but flinches once more when she notes how the doctor took a step back.

Away from her.

Silence reigns for a few more beats, with Jane looking carefully at the doctor for any sign that she just fucked up. At the same time, she's gearing herself up at the idea that she should be ready in a split second to rush Maura back to the hospital if necessary.

After what seemed like the longest minute of tense and awkward silence between them in the history of their friendship, Jane tentatively takes the last few steps in order to reach out for Maura.

-x-x-x-x-

Maura is still silent: reeling from Jane's voice, but mostly overwhelmed with her words.

"Maura."

"Where did you go?"

Jane's a bit taken aback. Somewhat expecting, but still surprised at Maura's question.

She grabs Maura's hand.

"I had something I needed to take care of."

"Did you meet with Emily?"

Jane stiffens.

Maura stiffens.

And yanks her hand away from Jane's.

"You should go."

"Maura—"

"I need to rest."

"You need someone to look after you."

"I'd prefer if that person happens to be anyone _but_ you."

Maura tries not to show any outward reaction to the hurt expression that flits through Jane's face in light of her words.

"Maura. Please."

"Time and time again, you impressed upon me the importance, the principles, the values—the 'rules'!— to be honored when it comes to friendships, Jane. Specifically ours. And you left!"

"But we're no longer talking about simple friendship, are we, Maura?" Jane couldn't help shoot back.

Maura pales at that and makes a move to turn her back when Jane grabs her arm and pulls her closer.

"If you would just let me explain, Maura." Jane whispers fiercely, her lips so close to hers that for a moment Maura loses track of what they were talking about.

In fact, she's not quite sure how her arms end up wrapping themselves around Jane's neck.

"I'm so sorry, Maura. For a lot of things."

Jane takes Maura's silence to brush her hair back and places her hand back where it feels right: around Maura and settled at the small of her back.

"Jane—"

"Wait. Please. Just let me say something and then if you want me out, I'll go. But I can't promise you that I won't be camping outside your door, Maura."

A beat is spent looking into each other's eyes.

Considering what she has to say, Jane would scoff at the cliché they were acting out at that very moment.

But more than cliché, she has a lot to make up to and for Maura.

"I'm sorry for being so…clueless, I guess is the easiest term I can think of. I'm sorry for not being a very good friend these past few weeks—months, really. I'm sorry for not realizing your pain. I'm more sorry for not doing anything about it when I should have. And I'm sorry if meeting up with Emily earlier caused you further pain. But Maura—"

She tightens her grasp of the blonde when Maura acted like she wanted to step back and away at Jane's last statement.

"I only met up with Emily to clarify some things. I'd tell you about how she's a wonderful person to get to know, Maura—if I weren't so worried that you'd chuck another shoe at my head. Mostly, she's wonderful because she understood where I was coming from when I told her that I couldn't exactly be buddies with her. At least not until I've resolved this one thing between us."

For the first time in her life, Maura could swear that it was taking forever for Jane's words to fully penetrate her brain.

"Maura?"

Maura clears her throat and whispers shakily.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been overlooking 'us'. And I've taken you—us—our thing, for granted. So much so that I couldn't see past our friendship as being something…'more'."

"What are you saying…"

"I'm saying that I'm sorry I've been blind to Emily's advances towards me, which in turn hurt you when you mistakenly thought there was actually any chance for her and I to be anything more than platonic."

Before Maura could say anything more, Jane leans her head even closer to hersthat if she were to simply pucker her lips…

"I'm also saying…that I'm in love with _you_ , Maura. Not Emily. Not anyone else. It's always been you."

-x-x-x-x-

Angela walks into Maura's house the next morning, eager to check up on the ME who is basically a Rizzoli in all rights but name—

—and runs smack dab onto the sight of Maura on her daughter's lap—

—looks like that Rizzoli name isn't that far out of a possibility—

—and the sight of the broken vase on the living room floor.

"Jane!"

"What?!" To Jane's credit, she doesn't relinquish her hold of the doctor. In fact, much to Maura's surprise, Jane acts like nothing is amiss.

"What did you do?!" Angela accuses, with a finger pointing at the broken pieces on the floor.

"Hey! Why do you always look to blaming me, Ma?"

Jane shifts a bit in her seat. Maura thinks her weight may be causing discomfort to the brunette at first—until the hand that she feels creeping up her thigh and under her robe makes her believe differently.

"You mean it wasn't you who broke Maura's dish from Spain?"

"Fine. But that wasn't me this time."

"And why would Maura break her own vase?"

Shrugging, Jane merely replies with a smirk. "It's what happens when Maura guesses."

"She breaks things?!" Angela scoffs in disbelief.

"Yeah." Jane looks at the somewhat frozen Maura, and her smirk turns into a soft smile which Maura catches in time when she snaps out of her stupor.

"But I'll fix it. Whatever's broken, I'll be right here to fix it."

 _AN: I hope you don't mind how I've ended this particular short that turned into a series. Somewhat. Thanks to those who stuck around. I'll do my best to get back to one shots._


End file.
